


A picture is worth a thousand words

by quietude_et_douceur



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Modern Era, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 06:36:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/683939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietude_et_douceur/pseuds/quietude_et_douceur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Valentine's Day and Arthur wants to surprise Merlin but Merlin has a surprise for him too that might just surpass everything Arthur had planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A picture is worth a thousand words

"Merlin?" Arthur called out as he locked the door behind him. "You home?"

It was Valentine's Day and Arthur had managed to leave work early to surprise his fiancé. Merlin was nine months pregnant with their first child (a fact that had precipitated their engagement) and had been absolutely miserable these last few weeks, between heartburn, lack of sleep and just generally feeling fat and bloated and _absolutely disgusting, Arthur, how can you even look at me?_ He'd been on maternity leave for a week now which seemed to have made things worse since he spent most of his time cooped up in their flat. At least it would soon be over, Arthur thought as he took his coat and shoes off, his c-section was scheduled in one week to the day.

He made a quick detour by the kitchen to drop off his surprise – it wouldn't do for the food to stay out after all – before checking the living room to see if Merlin was there. It wouldn't be the first time Merlin hadn't heard him come in as he had the bad habit of becoming so engrossed in his books that he shut out the outside world.

But Merlin wasn't in the living room. That left the master bedroom. Arthur sighed and loosened his tie. If Merlin was in the bedroom, he probably wasn't feeling very well and wouldn't want to do much celebrating. Of course, Merlin might be out, he told himself as he made his way to the living room.

He opened the door as quietly as possible, trying not to disturb Merlin in case he was asleep. When his eyes got used to the darkness – Arthur refused to turn on the light in case he triggered one of Merlin's awful headaches – he noticed a dark shape huddled beneath the blankets on his side of the bed and smiled fondly at the sight.

Arthur went over to the bed and knelt down in front of Merlin.

"Merlin," he murmured. "Wake up."

The form under the blankets shifted and let out a low groan. "Arthur?"

"Come on, sleepy head, time to wake up."

Merlin finally pushed the blankets down to his chest and fumbled with the light switch. "Wha – What time is it?" he asked blearily, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn.

Arthur bent forward and pressed a kiss to Merlin's temple. "It's just gone six. You know you won't sleep tonight if you don't wake up now."

"'M not going to sleep tonight anyway with this one moving all night," he grumbled as he struggled to get up.

"Here, let me help you," Arthur said, pulling Merlin up so that he was sitting. He ran a hand over Merlin's round belly. "It'll be over soon, Merlin."

"Ugh, I just want this to be over with now. 'M sick of being pregnant."

Arthur sighed. Apparently, Merlin was in one of _those_ moods again, tired and cranky. So much for his surprise. "You won't be saying that when she's born."

"At least I won't look like a beached whale anymore."

"Hey," Arthur interjected softly, brushing Merlin's hair off his forehead, "you look lovely."

"No I don't. I look like I swallowed a planet."

"Doctor Who references won't get you anywhere, my dear. And I think you look perfect, even with your planet-sized belly."

Merlin scowled adorably, all sleep-ruffled and bleary-eyed. Arthur tried to contain his smile knowing that it would just set Merlin off. "You're just saying that because you don't want to sleep on the couch tonight."

"I'm not, I think you're beautiful. God, Merlin, you look amazing pregnant."

Merlin finally cracked a small smile at that. "You really think so?"

"Yes," Arthur replied, smiling back at him. "You're absolutely gorgeous, Ems."

A bright smile spread across Merlin's face at Arthur's nickname for him. "You're not so bad yourself, you know."

Arthur got up off the floor and sat next to Merlin, pulling him into a hug. "Of course I am." He pressed a kiss to Merlin's temple. "How are you feeling?"

Merlin snuggled in closer and put Arthur's hand on his stomach, the baby moving lazily beneath the skin. "I'm ok," he mumbled into the crook of Arthur's neck. "Are you sure? You look exhausted. Do you want me to get you anything?"

"Had a long day, s'all. Ran a few errands cause we were out of ice cream, met up with Gwaine, felt tired so he took me home and I had a nap. That's all. I'm fine, Arthur. You don't need to fuss."

"Good." He pressed a kiss to the top of Merlin's head. "I'm glad to hear it."

"You're home early. 'S nice that."

Arthur could feel Merlin settling in for another nap in his arms. He laughed and pulled him closer still, caressing his stomach gently. "No going back to sleep, Merlin. I won't give you your surprise if you do."

"I thought my surprise was you coming home early."

"Well, if that's all it takes to make you happy, I'll just –"

"No!" Merlin pulled back to look him in the eyes. "No, you promised me a surprise, you have to give it to me now."

"You're very demanding, you know. I don't know why I put up with you," he sighed in mock-exasperation before smiling. "All right then, think you can make it to the living room on your own? I won't be a second."

"Ugh, you want me to move?" Merlin groaned. "At least help me up, you prat."

"Come on then," Arthur said, holding his hands up. Pulling Merlin to his feet was easy, almost second-nature now, which was fortunate because Merlin could never seem to sit still in one spot for any length of time, even now he was in the late stages of his pregnancy. "Go stretch out on the sofa, I'll be with you in a minute."

He was just leaving when Merlin reached out for his hand and pulled him back. "Don't be in such a hurry, Arthur," he murmured before kissing him soundly on the lips.

Arthur walked to the kitchen slowly, taking his time to make sure that Merlin had plenty of time to reach the sofa and settle down. He couldn't get around very fast these days and he'd remarked on more than one occasion that it made him feel self-conscious.

_"I'm only pregnant, you know? I hate that I can't walk as fast anymore. Makes me feel fat and useless."_

_"You're not fat, Ems, you're just pregnant."_

_"And I hate waddling, it makes me feel silly."_

Arthur would then pull him close and say "you're not silly, you're gorgeous" and slowly kiss away his anxieties.

It didn't take him long to remember where he'd left his briefcase in his haste to find Merlin. A quick glance out the door to make sure Merlin wasn't still in the hall and he was making his way to the living room.

He found Merlin settled on the sofa, absent-mindedly leafing through a catalogue, one hand on his round belly, looking as relaxed and comfortable as he could be these days. "Happy Valentine's Day, Ems," he said softly, handing him a thin rectangular box wrapped in blue paper.

Merlin smiled at him, warm and fond, their fingers brushing as he took the present, before delicately unwrapping it – he'd probably never stop trying to reuse wrapping paper even though they could both more than afford it now. "Oh, Arthur! You shouldn't have," he said, a little choked on emotion as he pulled the box out to reveal a brand new tablet.

"It's nothing," Arthur said, ducking his head in embarrassment. He should have known Merlin would make a fuss over nothing.

"It's not 'nothing', you prat, come here." Merlin took his hand, pulling him down to sit next to him and kissed him sweetly. "You spoil me too much," he murmured as they parted.

"You know I love to spoil you rotten, Ems. You're worth it. Besides, this way, you'll be able to keep yourself busy without having to get up too much."

"It's perfect, Arthur." Another kiss, gentle, languid. "Thank you."

Arthur put his hand on Merlin's stomach, rubbing it gently. He could never get enough of it. "It's the least I could do since I put you in this predicament."

"Mm. You could rub my back if you're still feeling guilty about knocking me up out of wedlock."

Arthur leaned back against the armrest and helped Merlin settle between his legs. "So. Are you going to tell me what you're doing home early?" Merlin asked as Arthur's hands started moving over his lower back. "Ah, yes, right there."

"It's Valentine's Day, I wanted to surprise you." He pressed a kiss to the warm skin of Merlin's shoulder. "Does your back hurt a lot?"

"Was on my feet all day," he purred contentedly. "Mm, yeah. Feels good, Arthur. You should become a massage therapist, quit your job as a lawyer and give massages."

Arthur chuckled. "But then my hands would be too tired to give you a massage in the evening."

"Like I'd give you a choice."

"True." Another kiss to his shoulder. "You do need to stop spending so much time standing up though. It's not good for you."

"'S fine, your massages work wonders." Merlin stretched languorously beneath his fingers. "'S why I'm letting you marry me."

"Merlin," he warned, working his fingers over a particularly tense spot.

"I'm fine Arthur, don't fuss."

"You're pregnant, of course I'm going to fuss," he countered. "Especially if you insist on being an idiot and running errands when you could have just called me."

Finally, his fingers managed to work the tension out of Merlin's back and his fiancé melted back against him. "Yes but you're busy, I'm not," Merlin argued gently. Clearly, his fighting spirit had drained from his body at the same time as the tension in his back. Arthur wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him close again, not wanting any distance between him and Merlin tonight. Soon they would be parents and not have a moment to themselves, but tonight, Arthur wanted it to be all about them.

"It's Valentine's Day, do we have to fight?"

"It's not fighting, it's –" Merlin trailed off and rested his head against Arthur's shoulder as he weighed his words. "– bickering. It's what couples do."

"Yes, dear." Arthur nuzzled his cheek.

"Mm, don't patronise me, dollop head."

Arthur could feel Merlin grow slowly heavier against him and he knew Merlin was settling back in for another nap. "Hey now, what did I say about going back to sleep?"

"I've had my surprise and if we're just going to stay here cuddling..."

"Who said your surprise was over?" he asked and smirked as he felt Merlin tense against him, suddenly more alert. "I bought dinner. I was going to take you out to a fancy restaurant but I figured you'd want to stay in tonight."

"Good thinking, I don't think I'm up to getting dressed and I think I outgrew the last of my nice shirts anyway."

Arthur just laughed and buried his nose in Merlin's sleep-mussed hair, breathing in his scent – organic shampoo (Merlin had said it was better for the baby), clean sweat and something unidentifiable but uniquely _Merlin_. "I love you, Ems."

**

"I got you a present too," Merlin murmured later that night as Arthur settled down in bed, spooning him.

Merlin felt tense in his arms and he'd sounded nervous just then. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to but I'm not sure I should have..."

Arthur pressed a kiss to the back of his head and ran a hand soothingly over his belly. "What's the matter, Merlin?" he asked gently.

Merlin reached out and pulled a small box from the bedside table. "Here, I hope you like it."

Arthur took the present from Merlin's hand and took a moment to smile at the messily wrapped gift. Typical Merlin. "I'm sure it's lovely, Merlin."

"You won't be saying that once you've opened it."

Arthur disentangled himself from Merlin and sat up to unwrap the present. Inside was a framed picture of a beautiful woman with long blond hair, smiling warmly and almost glowing. In her arms was a tiny baby, probably newborn, wrapped in a white blanket, one tiny fist wrapped around his mother's finger. It was a cute picture but he had no idea why Merlin was giving it to him. Was it someone he knew?

He took another look at the picture, this time taking in the details. She was in a hospital room, surrounded by machines and bathed in artificial light, sitting up in bed, and beneath her warmth and glow, Arthur could see that she was tired, exhausted even. She looked pale, almost ashen. Had she just given birth? His eyes were then drawn to the blanket. It definitely wasn't standard hospital issue, for one thing it had... Were those little ducks on the blanket? He felt like he'd seen that blanket before...

He gasped. Suddenly, he knew exactly where he'd seen the blanket before which meant that that woman...

He heard Merlin call his name, sounding worried. "Arthur?" he said as he struggle to sit up and face his fiancé. "Are you all right?"

"I thought –" he started, choked with emotion. "Father said –"

He felt Merlin pull him into a hug, running his fingers through his hair soothingly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... I just – I thought –"

"I was told she'd died giving birth to me, that she'd never even seen me," he whispered against Merlin's shoulder, tears welling in his eyes.

"I know, love, I know," Merlin murmured. "It's all right, I've got you."

Arthur had only seen his mother's face once. On his tenth birthday, he'd sneaked into his father's study while his father hosted a business dinner, angry that his father's work once again took precedence. While looking for the key to the liquor cabinet, he'd come across a small envelop, yellow with age. Inside had been a picture of a young woman, beautiful, blonde with blue eyes, just like Arthur. He'd only had a few minutes with the picture before his father had angrily stormed into his study, probably warned by the maid, pulling him the picture from his hands and sending Arthur to his room for the rest of the evening in punishment.

"Where did you find it?" he asked softly, his voice rough with unshed tears.

"In Gaius's office. I was sorting through his boxes before leaving last week –"

"I thought I told you not to do any heavy lifting, Merlin. It's not good for the baby," he interjected, unable to help himself. Merlin shouldn't be lifting heavy objects in his condition, Gaius should have known better.

"Hush, you. Let me tell my story. Besides, Gaius brought me the boxes, I just had to sit down and go through them. And that's where I found it."

"How did you know it was my mother?"

"Says so on the back, it was a few hours after you were born."

Arthur started running his hand over Merlin's belly again, more to soothe himself than Merlin this time. "She looks happy," he said, thinking back to his mother's face as she held him for the first time.

"She looks like she loved you more than anything else on this planet," Merlin said softly, kissing the top of his head gently.

Arthur pulled back to look Merlin in the eyes. "It's perfect." Merlin looked sad and worried so Arthur pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Thank you, Merlin. I love it."

"Really?" Merlin didn't seem quite convinced so Arthur kissed him again. When he pulled back, he gave him a small, reassuring smile. "Really," he said and Merlin smiled back at him.

Merlin settled back down on his side, this time relaxed and sleepy. "Happy Valentine's Day, Arthur," he mumbled as Arthur spooned him again.

"Good night, Ems." Merlin yawned and snuggled in closer. "I love you."

"Love you too, Arthur," Merlin mumbled, words slurred with sleep.


End file.
